Insectos - hormigas y mosquitos

Ants and mosquitoes are much different in El Norte. In San Agustin Etla it was a real war with the ants and I think they almost always won. The small ones were everywhere and their bites were painful and over time, after a few hundred of them, one developed a toxic reaction to them. It seemed as if they could easily tunnel through concrete and, as terrible as it sounds, we always had some gasoline to pour down the holes to force them to move on. As I say, they won, most of the time. I hardly ever kill anything consciously - yes, I am aware that millions of dust mites die as I walk around the house - but they were so aggressive and destructive, it was on! Not to mention the leaf-cutting ants for which the area is known. They could defoliate plants in the blink of an eye, the very model of efficiency.

Here the ants are plentiful, but not a problem. Black and shiny, they occasionally visit, but leave if not fed and never bite. They are probably reading this and laughing as they eat the house starting at the foundation.

I vaguely remember some Buddhist saying, "All day long I sit and contemplate enlightenment while swatting mosquitoes."
In Oaxaca (and St. Thomas) they are too fast to swat. My friend William at La Casa de mis Recuerdos told me it was because of the warm climate. Their prey is faster so they have to be as well. At any rate, in New England they are fat and slow. Fortunately, I don't have many here so I can sit and contemplate without those kinds of distractions.

The figuras are by the Blas family in San Pedro Conejos. Their work is always exquisite and beautifully painted.